Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and What to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits

I had hoped this book would be a fun, but profond, discussion of literature's merits and values even in today's modern society. Instead, it's mindless drivel about "what parts to skip" and "what's sexy" in 50 randomly chosen works of the Western canon. I think it ends up degrading the value of the books more than celebrating them, and I am seriously concerned...more

I had hoped this book would be a fun, but profond, discussion of literature's merits and values even in today's modern society. Instead, it's mindless drivel about "what parts to skip" and "what's sexy" in 50 randomly chosen works of the Western canon. I think it ends up degrading the value of the books more than celebrating them, and I am seriously concerned about the maturity level of the author.   hide

Being a kid that likes to read classics, this book is a great guide to approaching the great books. And this guy is hilarious. I mean, so much of what he says is true, and he dosen't have the snobbishness that characterises a lot of people who read classics. A great book for classics nerds to show their friends, if only to give them an idea of their madness.